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201: The Interview and The Lie

1 hr 52 min Explicit Full episode
201: The Interview and The Lie
Movie Meltdown
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About this episode

Movie Meltdown - Episode 201 So we've featured many interviews with actors and filmmakers over the years, but this week we change things up a little as WE ourselves are interviewed. We welcome Emily from "The Courier Journal" who asks us to try to explain, just what "Movie Meltdown" is exactly. Then we fall right back into our usual discussion mode as we talk about this week's Sofa Theater feature "The Lie". Directed by Joshua Leonard, and starring Joshua and our beloved (adopted cast member) Jess Weixler. And as we wax philosophic about our own existence, we also mention... the awkwardness is excruciating, a soul-crushing job, so douchey, best drip so far, indie genre cliches, voyeurism, a weekend camping, people going to their futile jobs, the Clair Huxtable look, editing the movie, the waitress at the diner, InstaGram coloration, The Blair Witch Project, Allison Anders, these hash browns are amazing,  I love Portland... I met an owl there once, maybe it's just your head and what do you do when you give yourself a day off? Spoiler Alert:  "The Lie" has a MAJOR spoiler moment in it, so watch it beforehand for spoiler-free listening. Plus Fred spoils the end of "The Return of Martin Guerre". You have been warned!! "It's not really about the lie." - "But which lie is it?"

Transcript

Automatically generated, so expect the odd misheard name.

Hi, this is Jess Wexler, you're listening to Movie Meltdown, our movie's The Lie. And. And hi, this is Joshua Leonard. You're listening to Movie Meltdown. Thanks for being with us today or tonight or whenever you happen to.

Be listening to this. The following feature has been rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America. It is intended for mature audiences and parental discretion is advised. It's showtime, folks. Enjoy the show.

Our nuclear reactor pumping out one million kilowatts of power. What's up and welcome to Movie Meltdown, I'm Brian. I'm Fred. I'm Marlena. I'm Greg.

I'm Ben. I'm Lucy. And we are back for another episode of The Caffeinated Movie Geek. Cappuccino my butt. I still drink coffee.

The last fucking thing you need is another cup of coffee. It's time for The Caffeinated Movie Geek. We are coming to you live via digital recording from Nancy's Bagel Rounds where we get together, drink coffee, talk movies, and discuss their exciting flavor names, which reminds me it's a new flavor. We've never had this one before. It's pretty exciting.

So, Marlena, I ask you, what blend of coffee are we drinking this week? You acted like you were going to remember, didn't you? Saddle Mountain. There we go. Like it was a quiz show.

Saddle Mountain. Yes, thanks to our friends at Columbia River Coffee, they sent us some Saddle Mountain. Let's enjoy some now. So this is a slightly different episode. We have a guest with us.

I guess I'll go ahead and throw you in here. This is Emily. Hi. And we've been talking online, and you work for the local paper. I guess we can plug them.

Yes. Not everybody's from here that listens, so the Courier-Journal. It's a huge paper here. All right, we only have one. It's not New York.

So she's from the paper. And we were talking about doing a piece on the fact that we sit in this coffee shop and do a show. So then as we got into it, I'm like, I'm figuring you're going to have some sort of questions for us. Just a couple. So why not, like, do that?

I mean, we usually intro with something. It'll be me yammering on about some movie I watched this week. So instead, I thought there's probably a lot of people listening at home that don't know some of these answers. Probably some people on the show don't know. So...

I thought it would be good for everybody if we just throw it out there in the middle of the show. So, um, I guess we'll get into that. What, what do you have questions about the show? Hmm. Well, um, I guess the biggest question is, might take a little bit to answer, but how did this show develop?

How did you kind of get to this point? Started at birth. This is going to be a long story. Um, it really is a lot of little pieces. I mean, there is stuff that I can go back.

We, we, recently just did a whole episode on our first love of movies and the first movie we saw that kind of like really made us change the way we think about movies. So that goes back to when I was a little kid. So you can say it started there, and that was sort of the love of movies. Going forward to more of this coming together, I guess we can stop in the middle. Again, as we mentioned on a recent episode, there were several of us that worked together in a video store and used to stand around Having these conversations all day long, and again, I think it was planting the seed.

I think I always kind of had that sick idea that I wanted to have my own show. Doesn't everybody have that, really? I want to have my own talk show. I'm still waiting to get a desk and a chair. That hasn't come together yet.

But in general, I think I always had some sort of weird idea that I wanted to put something together like that and sort of meshing that together with the weird conversations we had At the video store, I think it started to sort of come piece itself together in a little bit there. And then, again, we've been working with Nancy's for quite a while. So that's probably the very beginning of this process is I started working with her and putting together art shows and stuff here. And we had quite a run there for about two, three years. We had a really successful run of art shows based out of here.

And a lot of those same people are involved, some of which were on the show. So I was already seeing a lot of crossover. So again, my love of movies was already tying into the art geek world. So from pretty early on, I put together one that was like a movie geek art show. And everybody did movie-themed artwork.

And that was a decent tie-in. And again, sort of solidifying all this stuff together. So at that point, I think I started talking to a couple of the artists, I mean, Misty had always been on board, so I roped her in from the beginning. Roger was one of our artists at that point, and he was interested in doing it. So we sort of pieced together about four people early on, and I'd just kind of gotten fascinated with the idea of doing this kind of thing.

I'd just sort of discovered it myself, and within about a couple of months was already working on putting mine together. So it was a pretty quick turnaround from when I, again, I think I always wanted to do a version of this and just the technology hadn't caught up with us yet. So it was right about that time that I, that I found them online and was like, actually the first one I hated. And that was half the, the reason for it was like, I can put something better together, better than this. It's like, I, I don't like what they're doing.

They're selling themselves short. They're, they're, they're really putting like no effort into it. And, uh, so yeah, I was just like, I think I could put something together and I think I know people, you know, that, that have, Better conversations that are entertaining. And yeah, I think that's kind of where all that started. So that was actually as of December, we'll be having our fifth anniversary show.

It's been four full years, but yeah, we started right about. Any big plans for your fifth anniversary? We're also coming up on 200 episodes, and I don't think we're doing anything. We're planning a live event here at Nancy's. That's not specifically tied to either, really, but I think that's going to be our first real big public celebration.

And then how did. You get the know-how to do all this stuff? Trial and error. If you go back, hit and miss over the years. It goes through areas where it sounds great, and then something will change. that's part of the problem is we've, I don't like sitting around the house from day one.

I kind of wanted it to be able to pick up and move if necessary, if possible. So I always liked going to events and going out into the world. There's probably a lot of podcasts that are sitting in their mom's basement and never leave the, you know, in front of the computer wearing a Skype headset. And it's like, I don't, I don't want to do that. I think from day one, I wanted it to be people around the table.

I wanted to be able to actually meet up with, with, you know, get friends together and, Have a conversation. I think that's a key element to our show is it feels very much like a real conversation that you might have with your friends. And I don't think you can do that with Skype. Skype always sounds weird. It sounds like you're eavesdropping on a phone call.

And I never wanted to do that. I've tried it a few times, and it's never the same. I just don't respond to it the same. So I always wanted to be able to do that. So from that came piecing together, going in debt.

We'll put it that way. for mixers and microphones, and then trying to figure out what sounds best, and then each time we would move to a new location, it would totally ruin all that, and I'd start from scratch. Massively, what I got here, the sound here is hard to deal with. I think just in the last six months, I've really kind of found a way to make it come off pretty good in here, so it's a constant battle. Each time we move to a different setting, it's a whole different set of scenarios and And stuff to readjust for. Well, and then for, I guess, everyone else, why are you all part of this?

What do you get from... What's the allure? What do you kind of get from it? Got the gun under the table. Don't you say a word.

I don't know. I was a fan from. I. Mean, I obviously knew Brian worked at a video store with him, and he said early on, hey, I've got this project I'm putting together. Tell me what you think about it.

And from. maybe like the third episode I started listening and not too long after then I had a job that allowed me to I had on headphones and I could listen to eight podcasts from different people a day and so it was a great environment that I could kind of learn this is still probably my favorite show of all of them and one day he said I would even write in because they had like a listener comment section so I'd write in early on and say my peace of mind and finally said, why don't you just come over and record with us? I've been hooked ever since. To me, it's like a book club for a movie geek. You get an assignment, you watch it, you might watch it again, or something like that, and then you get together and do what I've always done with my friends, is after you go watch a movie, go talk about it.

I think that's part of my doing, is I like roping people in. So as we've gone along, again, I've kind of As we find somebody that I think is interesting and has something to say, I kind of like invite people in. And that's really when we got here. It's like when it was, for a while we were doing it on the house, which was not a good scenario. And it's hard to invite people in, so I wanted a place to be able to meet.

And, yeah, once we got here, I just kind of opened it up. So we've got a lot of interesting tie-ins to different things. Lucy works with the Lexington Film League, so that's kind of how we eat. came to, you know, I was working with stuff that they were doing in Lexington, and we got an interesting crossover, so now we're trying to tie the cities together and find all the geeks in both of them and get them to come to all the same projects. Yeah, I came in basically the way Brian described. I knew him, we talked at work about movies and stuff, and then I was in a couple of the art shows.

I was in one here, and then He asked me if I wanted to come talk about movies, and I did, and it was really fun. And there were other people here who knew movies I hadn't seen. And also, I like Nancy's. It was like, oh, we're doing that at Nancy's. And it's just stayed interesting since then.

I sometimes, during the podcast, have to make notes of some of the things that, get mentioned. Because I have to look them up later and. That's kind of how I get my new feed of stuff I want to see is from things people mention that I haven't seen I. Hope that's how it's working for the listeners too so it's interesting that it also works for the people on the show I don't think there's a huge dividing line I think that's what I like about what we're trying to do is that I think the people listening at home don't feel that way with traditional TV shows and even like radio broadcasting There's a big disconnect, and you don't feel like, you know, there's a very phony persona that gets put on when they get in front of the camera or behind the microphone, and I don't think we have that.

I think if you listen to this real quick, you realize we don't have that. I was going to ask what makes this different than some of the other movie podcasts and whatnot. There are a lot out there. I won't pretend like there aren't. And, again, it's weird because I've watched a ton of them come up since then.

I mean, when I started, I only knew of, like, two other people really that were doing it beforehand that I talked to and even they weren't in this I mean they were regional but they were not in the city so it's it's funny how much now there's a multitude of shows out there and still a good portion of the population has no idea what a podcast is but I again I think it's I think it's the way that we identify with the movies and the way that we sort of put ourselves into this situation it's like we we sort of get a whole discussion going that I think it's different than a lot of other shows. I don't know what you guys think, but I think it's... I try to address it from every angle and look at not just what's going on in the movie, because sometimes that's a discussion in itself, but also what was going on when the movie was made.

Sometimes that's equally as interesting as what happened during the filming of the movie or what happened at the time of the movie, especially if you go back and look at old movies. Sometimes it's a very different scenario as to why they are the way they are. And then also just I try to tie it in. I think we all kind of look at stuff, just people in general, you look at it personally. And I think, I know I would try to put a personal spin on it and be like, why do I respond to this movie a specific way?

And I think, at least from my end, that's what I always try to do. That a lot of shows I don't think necessarily attempt to do that. What do you guys think? What makes you all different than other movie podcasts? I don't listen to other movies. podcasts.

I do listen to other podcasts. I was keeping my mouth shut for that same reason. And usually I save podcasts for like certain periods of time like when I'm doing certain kinds of work it's like I can look forward to listening to a podcast while. I'm working on stuff. But I've tried to listen to a few other movie podcasts but I didn't get engaged and.

I do listen to other podcasts. I love, you know, like The Moth. Storytelling, things like that, Radio Lab. Stephen Tobolowsky. We were just discussing him earlier.

He's awesome. Well, I mean, what do you think that people get from changing, you know, asking a little different, what do you think people get from yours that maybe is a little bit special or they get more of from yours? I think they get, like, On top of just, you know, the topical movie stuff, you can throw a little bit of personal narrative in there. Like, we'll tell some pretty interesting stories to each other, and that always, I think, makes for a good listening. Yeah.

I think the difference, definitely, between ours and, you know... I mean, podcasts are a lot different than, like, NPR radio shows, but so many things kind of have some sort... Not that we're not structured, but they have some sort of a script. We definitely don't. We just.

We're allowed to go off on tangents. Sometimes it's not. Always a good thing. And we do. But, you know, it's just kind of off the cuff.

I think people identify with that. I think that's the conversational style of it is the fact that we just, because I really don't, I structure the way that we do the show, but after that it's just throw it out there and let everybody say what they want to say. Don't really, you know, steer people towards one opinion. Everybody has a different take on stuff, and I try to get everybody to voice what they think about it. And I'm still coming kind of into this, so I apologize if this is an easy or stupid question to ask, but how do you all pick the movies?

Is it by vote, or is it by. Usually random, and random means I come up with it. Every once in a while, we'll throw other ones in. Like this one, I just sort of threw out there to see what kind of good option we could come up with, and I think Fred came up with this one. But I know everybody's kind of suggested stuff.

We've got a... list that's the size of a phone book now that we're attempting to get through but it's it's you know we only do a few at a time and then there's other episodes we don't even address the movie so the movies are just sort of we get to them as we get to them and i kind of like that because it gives us you know we've always got something to work on that's sort of why i love movies you'll never be done it's it's there's so many movies out there that you you could watch them every day of your life and just kind of scratch the surface of what is out there so it's i don't know it's always entertaining There. Are a lot of movie podcasts that focus on a genre, and that's not necessarily fun.

Eventually you get to the point where they're rehashing the same thing, or it seems like they're talking about the same subject. Or they're analyzing it within the box of that genre. Right, and to somebody from the outside that may not be as well-versed in it, it's not as interesting. To me, this, we can go from the worst horrible movie you've ever seen. Bigfoot.

Right. To, you know, the best, you know, indie film or Academy Award winning film or anything. The range is wide open. Sci-fi, horror, everything. And, you know, looking through the list, and again, it's not, I don't know, and you don't like talking about yourself, but I looked through the list on the website a few weeks ago and I was kind of like almost a proud moment.

Like, this is a good list. It's got a good mix of trash to, you know, something that you'd recommend to your mom. Yeah. And so that, that's, that's kind of fun. Uh, that kind of keeps it interesting.

You never really know what you're going to watch, uh, with this, with this show. And I think that along with that, I think, you know, Ben brought up the, that we just kind of talk and, you know, personal narratives and things like that. And, I think, I mean, it's coming from my perspective, you know, especially listening to it early on. There was one point right before I started on the show where I was talking about listening to the podcast. I said, I even caught myself because I'm talking to a real-life friend about a person whom I've never met on the show, but I'd listened to for hours.

And I said, oh, my friend said this movie was really good. And I caught myself and I said, I just referenced somebody as a friend that I've never met, you know, but... I've never felt that way about any other podcast, but it is. I mean, I think you feel like you're more connected, maybe. That seems weird to talk about.

Yeah, I don't think. It's true, though. I don't think any of us are presenting ourselves as movie critics in the way we talk about movies. I've gone out of my way to not... I don't respond well to the way people critique movies, and I never...

I mean, sometimes I'll throw it out there just trying to describe to people what we do, but I don't usually... talk about it like it's a critique, or a review as much as a discussion. It's like I like it to be, I don't even go in with it set 100%. Like sometimes it's just sort of a general idea of what I thought of it, and it's through the discussion that we have that I kind of figure out, oh, yeah, you're right. You know, you bring up a good point. I mean, I think we've kind of swayed each other on a lot of different things over the years, and it's like, I'll go in with one feeling, and I may not totally turn it around, but I'll be like, you've got a good point that I never thought of, and it was only through this discussion that I kind of realized that.

Is there any movie that, any, or any type of movies that are kind of out of, that you don't do, like they're really old movies, or, you know, The Notebook, Chick Flicks, or anything? We've done a little of everything. I mean, I like Going way back, and we've done stuff like Rebecca was an awesome episode, and we did a lot of stuff, and that's early Hitchcock. What's he? Oh, we did Harvey.

When Harry Met Sally. We did, well, and that's, yeah, going to the other. That was a specific request, but we did When Harry Met Sally. Some people boycotted it. We don't need garbage pail kids.

I'm still up for that one. Marlena loves that one. I want to do that one. I need to change. It just keeps coming up.

It's on the list. I'm sorry, Tangerine. I just don't think you're pretty anymore. So, again, I think we like kind of going into the ridiculous stuff. And we like throwing out some of the really schlocky B-movie stuff.

Just because, again, sometimes... the reason, but that they, you know, especially with drive-in stuff and B movies, it's like a lot of the times the reason they got made is for an entirely different than what's on the screen. It's like they were, they were supposed to be, you know, an allegory about this, or they were meant to, you know, sway the public's feelings about that. And it's really interesting to go back and look at why. And I think that's kind of what we do. I like to mesh all that into one big thing and be like, it's a discussion about the movie itself, but it's also a discussion about just movies in general and the the making of them and the, the sort of world that we've created with their existence.

It's like, you've got all these movie geeks that most of their life comes to, you know, we tie everything to movies and we, you know, we reference lines from them. We, you know, we, we tie them to our everyday life. And I think that's kind of what I try to do with this is, is not just present the movie, but how we, as you know, fans of movies respond to the movies. And I think that's what comes into it every week. Cool.

And then you were telling me how you had some famous people on. I think you said Lily Tomlin and Billy Dee Williams. Are those the top moments when you think back on the last five years? Or what are the top favorite things that have come out of this? Sometimes it's that, but it's funny.

Sometimes it's more of just our... I mean, when we get a really good discussion going sometimes, I can look back. through the list, and I'll be like, oh, man, I remember that episode. And I remember it being really good. And it may just be, you know, six or seven of us sitting in a coffee shop talking. And it is parallel with some of the bigger stars sometimes because it's really fun.

But we have had probably one of the more interesting ones having people in here. I mean, we had Jess Weixler, who we're going to be talking about this coming, you know, episode. She was in here. sitting in her, you know, drinking coffee with us, talking about making movies, and then talking about, you know, we had her sit down and watch a movie that she has nothing to do with, and she sat in for that discussion, and that was, again, probably one of the more interesting segments, because listening to her as an actress talk about what people on screen are doing, I think is a different level, and I really liked doing that, and then we, I try to do that as often as we can, anytime we can find an actor that's willing to sit in for those kind of segments, those I really like because it gives a really different perspective than what people sitting in the audience think about a movie.

What are your all's favorite moments, I guess, from doing this? I like the discussion of War Horse. The argument or discussion? The argument was great, yeah. And I hadn't seen it yet, but it just like really primed me to go see that movie.

You just liked seeing my hateful side. Yeah, I did. That was kind of fun. And I liked when we talked about, another great one was at the Lebowski Fest when we talked about Raising Arizona and the band. That was funny.

That was really funny. That was one of the road shows there. We went out to, again, I try to highlight what we have. I mean, we're coming out of a weird place to be doing a show about the entertainment industry. You know, we're not in L.A.

We're not even in New York or Chicago. We're in the middle of the country here. And you would think there would be nothing to find here. But it's funny. Like, the more I go, like, I'll plan stuff out.

And we've got so many things that we're going to. and a lot of which center around this city. So, I mean, we had Lebowski Fest, and I'm like, most people don't realize that started here. Like, it's become this big thing, and it hits all these cities, but people don't realize this is where it came from. So we, again, I also like to do it probably wrong. I don't like, it's a little too on the nose sometimes, so it's like, okay, I think we should go to Lebowski Fest, but not talk about the big Lebowski.

But we like the Coen Brothers, let's pick another Coen. So we're sitting in the parking lot of Lebowski Fest, talking about raising Arizona, which I thought was fun. So yeah, there's pictures of us in the van holding mics from one seat to the next, and I've got the recorder in the car, and we're actually recording. In the parking lot of Lebowski Fest. Yeah, there was something very beautiful about turning a minivan into a de facto studio in the parking lot of Lebowski Fest.

It felt very Lebowski in and of itself. Yeah, kind of. I do that a lot. People kept wandering by the van who were dressed as things that were not in the movie. Was Moses in Lebowski Fest?

That's the director's cut. You missed it. Flashback. I think, I mean, I don't ever really go to Lebowski Fest. That was my first time going, but I was just amused by the fact that people dress up from inanimate objects from the movie because they've run out of costume ideas.

Like, there were so many people that were dressed up as the rug. That one guy was really good. Oh, and what was the one that we couldn't figure it out? The King and Queen? The King and Queen.

The Royal We? The Royal We. That was genius. So sad. So what do you see in the future?

I mean, is there any on-location place that you're really hoping to go to? I mean, what do you see happening? We've been a lot of places. I mean, when I look back at some of the different, I mean, we usually don't go more than, I mean, there's usually a dry spell, but once we hit like the heading into the warmer months out of the year, there's probably not a month that goes by that we're not on location somewhere. And, you know, so we do a lot of stuff that shows here, and then we've been to Chicago and done stuff, and we go to Lexington, and we do Cincinnati and Indianapolis.

So we hit a lot of different locations in this area, sort of the regional area here. Can you make, like, film festivals? Like, one day you want to go to Cannes or something? I'd love to be able to do a tie-in. We need to hit Sundance.

We need to hit, yeah, as long as... That's the problem. At this point, I think that's what we need to get to that level. We need funding. So we need somebody to start kicking in some cash and either take donations or we'll hawk anything.

We don't care. We'll start doing that. I mean, we've got a place for commercials right now. All we need is somebody to start throwing some. Cash at us.

That'd be cool if we could get a tour bus. I'm up for that, too. I think we need to travel around. Again, I like going out and actually... getting in the middle of the world and talking with real people and talking with people that actually work in the movies. So I think that's the way to go about it.

And when we're not, I like kind of having a home base here, and this is kind of what this has become. I would say it's our second home, but it's kind of our first home, really. If we do one that's not on location at a film festival or at a convention or something, it's from Nancy. So it's kind of become our main base of operation when we're in Louisville. Is there any, I mean, for all y'all, is there any celebrity actor or someone who, like, if you could get them on the show, then, like, you've arrived or then you can be happy?

I'm already happy. We had Roger Corman. I'm still, like, he's the reason half the people in Hollywood are working today. So I thought that was pretty amazing. Yeah, you interviewed Willie Tomlin.

Yeah, that was pretty huge. Yeah, everybody comes by. You can't help liking them after they sit around and talk about movies with you. Like if you get Johnny Depp and Nancy's Bagels, is that going to be like. That would be cool.

Actually, after that thing that Misty posted about the bird on his head, I don't want to hear him talk ever again. I really don't. That's true. We're also not PC in any way, shape, or form, so. I have to keep Lou our chances of Johnny Depp.

I have to keep track of. Which bridges we've burned as we go. I mean, he does still have family in Lou from what I've heard. That's the thing. I mean, we do have their tie-in, so I'm still working on that Jennifer Lawrence thing.

I mean, our family still lives here. George Clooney. George Clooney's got to come back, so. I mean. He seems, he's just, you try not to like him and you give up.

It's like, yeah. He seems like such a good guy. Yeah, yeah. Well, lastly, because I'll probably have more questions. Later, but I guess for right now, what is it about movies that you guys love so much?

I mean, why not music or something else? What is it about movies that really just kind of pulls you in? I like other stuff too. I actually don't like anything else. But I don't know why I like movies exclusively.

I don't actually have an answer to that. I just don't respond to other stuff the same. The same thing with Red. I like other stuff, but I've realized that in trying to work with stuff over the years, it's like, I mean, I even did just doing interviews and stuff with other people for a different thing. I was doing interviews with musicians and stuff, and I just didn't respond the same it's like i could pick the specific people that i liked and i wanted to interview them but it's like if i had to go and talk to musicians every day i i just i don't have that love for it the same i think there's a disconnect between me and music or me and anything else that that isn't there with movies it's like movies is just a connection from from childhood and it's never gone away and i i think.

For me you know You get the cliche of people comparing a book to a movie. And to me, I've gone through enough evaluation of books that I can have a degree in literature and all that does is prepare me for this, not for what I do in the real world. And to me, a movie is one of the greatest art forms because it's visual, you've got music, you've got acting, you've got directing, you've got Everything that you can throw in and people say, oh, there's so much more in a book, for instance, because they can go into such detail. Well, you don't realize, the average person, I guess, doesn't realize how much detail there is in a scene and how much you can show with just an actress lingering on a thought for a moment or... what's in the background or what she's wearing or anything.

And the only sense you really can't get out of it is smell. Or even touch. That's what I was going to say. And a good director can do that by the way they react to how something tastes or smells. And to me, a great movie is a painting and it is a song and it is theater all rolled into one and a great piece of literature.

And so with movies, you can take two hours out of your life and completely immerse yourself quickly. And I don't have time for books anymore to really devote to that. But a film, I can knock out four or five in a week if I'm having a good week. And it's just not the same. And we can quickly watch it and get right back into the discussion.

You couldn't have that with a... A book club would have to be a month for me, not a week. To me, that's how I latch on to it. And it's a communal experience, which a book is not, unless you're all reading aloud together. For me, movies are just sort of magic.

I mean, having worked in production, it's sort of a miracle that there's ever a good movie ever. That's true. It is. I mean, seriously, because it has to start with a really solid script, and then 10 million things can go wrong from there, and then after they actually finish shooting it, another 20 million things can go wrong from there. So the fact that any good movie gets made ever is like an achievement beyond anything my mind can even wrap itself around.

I think that's all I have right now, but probably more questions later. All right. Take a break now? Yeah. Get some more coffee.

All right. We will take a break, go reload on the coffee, and be back with this week's movie. Battles of your youth cause this is just. Don't answer that doorbell unless you're ready for a lovely young package of trouble. Hi, I'm Candy Wilson, the babysitter.

The babysitter. She came to sit with baby and ended up with daddy. And now together for the first time, two motion pictures that spell double trouble. The babysitter and weekend with the babysitter. Two different babysitters, two different stories, right out of your own living room.

Only the names have been changed to protect the guilty. Candy, you don't think that I would. I'm old enough to be. Mr. Maxwell, you're old enough to do anything you want to do.

They hear back to back. Don't miss The Babysitter and Weekend with The Babysitter. A double-barreled film experience that hits home. Perhaps your home. Right now, you're all that life is.

That's what I said. Right now. A Crown International release rated R. All games considered. With news.

Now we have a press release. Views. The fiction I know is not everyone's cup of tea, but this one is pretty creepy. I like it. Reviews.

It doesn't bother me as much because you're not worried about the weapons tables because there aren't any. And interviews. Sean Patrick Fennin. Greg Payline from Microtactics Incorporated. I'm Andy Chambers with Games Workshop.

On tabletop games, visit us at agcpodcast.info. That's agcpodcast.info. Tweaked Audio, your source for high-performance, noise-reducing earbuds. Available in three styles and seven colors, durable and designed to sound great for both music and those chatty podcasts, like the one you're listening to now. Tweaked Audio earbuds come with a one-year warranty, and now there's a special deal for Movie Meltdown listeners.

Just go to tweakedaudio.com, and when you check out, enter the discount code MELTDOWN. Then you'll get 33% off and free shipping. Tweaked Audio. Sounds better. This is Jess Weixler and you are listening to Movie Meltdown.

I should go higher with that. Hi, this is Jess Wexler and you are listening to Moving Well Down. Too much? No, you can never do too much on this show. You've not seen it.

You've finally found the place where you belong. We're delighted to have you with us, and we extend a cordial welcome to you. We've lined up the top stars from Hollywood and from all over the world to entertain you on our giant screen with the new, colorful motion pictures you've been hearing about and reading about. To add to your enjoyment, we're all wound up to bowl you over at intermission time with live wire service at our snack bar, where you'll find a tempting variety of favorite foods and beverages. Now it's showtime, folks.

And you can be sure it's the best show in town. Your continued patronage is very, very welcome. It's time for Sofa Theater. What's going on? I've been pretty depressed recently.

What is it that you do exactly? I'm a musician. You got gigs coming up soon? Nothing in the immediate future. Kind of anxious.

Joyless. Remember, we need organic baby diapers. I don't really like my job. Green X, you bet. Green X, you bet.

Hey, what's up? Tell everybody I'm an old prick. I didn't tell anybody that you were an old prick. How many old pricks work here? Watch it.

Hi, Radco, it's Lonnie. I don't think I'm going to be able to make it in today. Oh, God, not again. Not again. Why?

Why you can't come to me? Please just stop yelling at me. Why can't I come to you? Why? Radko.

Radko, my daughter died last night. We just heard the news about Santa. It's Patrick. I just heard the news about the baby. It's okay, baby.

Daddy loves you. How was your day? Unusual. Yeah. Usual.

I'm sorry, but we got, uh, memorial stuff we've got to send out to some, like, Evites. Evites? I baked you this quiche. You doing okay? Hey.

Oh, that's so sweet, babe. I got this. Do you know a three-letter word for distance? Starts with an F. This isn't the life that we wanted.

If you want your life to change, you need to be honest with yourself and your wife. But music sucks. Yeah, music sucks. We're allowed to change things, right? I just have this perfect vision, you know, of us.

I've got to tell you something. You whisper that you were getting tired Got a look in your eye Looks a lot like goodbye Hold on to your secrets tonight Don't want to know I'm okay with this silence It's a truth that I don't want. To hear You're hiding regret in your smile. There's a storm in your eyes I've seen coming for a while Hang on to. The past tense tonight.

Don't say a word I'm okay. With the quiet. That'll make it through the night. I don't mind if you wait. Before you tear me apart Look me in the eye Lie, lie, lie Lie, lie, lie Alright.

We are back and it is time for this week's Sofa Theater Feature. This week's Sofa Theater Feature is The Lie. The year is 2011, director Joshua Leonard. They plot, according to IMDb, a man's life is altered unexpectedly after telling a lie to get out of work. So with that spoiler alert, and this one in particular, we've sort of touched on it a while back, but we didn't spoil anything then because the movie hadn't even come out yet.

So we've given ourselves like a year and a half window at this point, especially because it's streaming right now. So Go watch it beforehand because we're not only going to reveal the lie, but then everything that it totally tears apart in the process. So, yeah, go watch it beforehand. You've been warned. All right.

That having been said, where would you like to begin? Well, I'm already on the record as I totally love this movie. I really, really like this movie. I have to say, going back, because I saw it in the theater when we were there at the film fest when they were presenting it, And I think at the time I was more... And it's weird because I didn't...

I mean, we hadn't even talked to Jess at that point. But I was really kind of impressed with her performance. And that sort of overshadowed everything else, I guess. Because I remember... I like the movie, but it's like re-watching it this time.

I appreciate a lot more of what's going on. And I give Joshua Leonard a lot more credit for what he put together in the process. I don't know. I think. I ended up respecting it a lot more as a movie going back and re-watching it the second time.

I was afraid I was going to be disappointed re-watching it, but no, I'm still down. My first time viewing it was at the film festival as well. I always have that, if you see something with a film festival crowd, you're all going to love it. you know, right away. It's a weird thing. So I walked away from it thinking, was it as good as I thought?

Was it, you know, was the performances, you know, you've got the director sitting in front of you, you interview him 10 minutes later. That was, you know, so when I watched the second time, I was very aware of that. And kind of the same thing. I thought I was also the first time I was very aware of tonally where he was going, or maybe confused tonally with where he was going. You think.

Straight away, is this a comedy? Just a dark comedy? Or is this a drama that has some comedy thrown in? It definitely kind of fits somewhere in there. And I thought maybe, well, when I go back, I'm going to maybe even see flaws in that.

You know, perhaps. This time I was like, oh no, it comfortably fits in that that right on the edge of, I want to turn it off because I'm physically uncomfortable with where this is going. You know, like I've referenced in the past, my wonder years, I want to change the channel because he's just said something stupid or, um, you know, and I was again, also afraid I was going to just hate the, hate the characters this time. Yeah. Like, you know, what kind of a person would do something like this?

So, but it really, um, walks that line very well, I think, throughout the film. And I think, again, I almost became more sympathetic this time around. I mean, you see what he's done and how wrong it is, but you also see that snowball effect going, and you're just like, then all of a sudden, this time around, I was a little more putting myself in his shoes and be like, well, God, what do you do? I mean, you made this stupid mistake. You shouldn't do that.

But now that you have... what do you do, like, there's no recovery from this, so I, I think I got a little more into his, I think I was a little more detached that first time, and just sort of watching it, and again, not knowing where the story was going, and what he was doing with the weird tone, because it's not, it's barely a comedy, I mean, there's a little bit of comedy here and there, and that's funny that online, that's how they list it, too, it's an indie film slash comedy, according to them, but I'm like, It's so much drama. I don't know. I find myself laughing so much. Uncomfortable. There aren't even.

Really jokes or anything. It's just when the characters do something, I just. Can't help it. It's so funny. I think the first time when he just doesn't go into work, like he walks up and then he just turns.

Around, I start laughing there. And then I see him making the phone call and you can see his. Boss in the window. It's hilarious. And then when he goes to the diner, because what do you do when you give yourself a day off?

You go get breakfast. These hash browns are amazing. There's a lot about it that's really funny. You do feel voyeuristic watching it. It's so.

Well, it's very naturalistic, although. Oh, and then, I love the waitress. Waiter, waitress. But, what's a three-letter word for distance? It starts with an S.

Far? Far? Yeah. To me, that does a lot for the tone of the movie, just that one little exchange. Yeah, but he's eating at the diner, and he's like, oh, man, it's my day off.

It's going to be the best day off ever. He's like, like you said, these hash browns are amazing. And she just kind of was like, I don't care. And he's just disappointed. He's like, no, you're supposed to be like, thank you.

And he's just like, right then, even her not acknowledging him is just the start of like, I made a mistake. This is not going as I planned. Yeah. That was great. Oh, the awkwardness in it.

Like the dinner. Oh, the dinner. If one of your friends hit your other friends up for investment, they'll get dinner. There are so many moments in this movie where it was just so uncomfortable. It's excruciating.

Like the awkwardness that you feel when you're watching The Office or something like that. And you're like, oh, no, dinner. That's what I felt like a lot of times. It's funny you mention that because The Office right now is doing a version of this story with Jim and Pam. It's going into really dark territory.

Ever since Steve Carell left, they just... No, wait. Jim is like doing like. He's. Going into business with a friend of his and he hasn't told Pam.

And it's just. Going along and it's getting more and more awkward. And at the same time, her ex is getting married. And she's starting to feel like they just know everything about each. Other, and she keeps needing, well, tell me something about you that I don't know.

And he has this massive thing. It's very un-gym-like for him to do that, but it's, I was like watching the online videos with my daughter, and I was like, this is pretty much the same similar kind of couple story. Just the compulsive, like, I'm not going to say anything. You can tell the whole movie, like, he has this voice that's just screaming in his head and it's driving him nuts. Just, like, just tell someone that, you know, you lied about your kid and he's like, I can't do it.

Well, I mean, once you get to that point, there's no turning back. Yeah. And I remember when we talked to Joshua, he was like, he was, like, sort of equated it to the basic thing that we all do. And I was like, he's kind of got a point. Like, so many people have been like, oh, I can't come in today.

My grandmother died. Or my father had a stroke. Or, like, he references these other lies or little things that we make up to get out of things. But you can't, like, that one somehow crosses into something. such a dark place that it's like not only can you not say that and he does but then once you say that like it's not like oh my grandmother died and everybody's like oh okay well that happens but this one it's so dark and so like personally affecting that everybody you know has to adjust the way they behave around you, and everything about his... Everybody is so nice.

Yeah, everything about his office changes from that moment on. Oh, and the one guy who was. I wonder where I remembered him from, but the one guy at work was the cop that was tortured in Reservoir Dogs. That was him. That was him.

I did not even recognize him. That was him. But the scene at the bar where he's like... I took the heat for you. And at the end, he's like, he's like, Evite's in a memorial service?

Yeah. He's like, no, I'm okay. I'm okay. It's like, he needs to be comforted about this. It's just messed him up so bad.

That's why, to me, it is a comedy, because it's not ha-ha comedy. how funny and awkward life is. You know, it's like, that really would happen. Yeah. The lady would bring you a quiche and what, you know, what, what. And I admired that scene so much because I do think it was a comedy.

And I think that first scene was so hilarious. And then the scene where he's at his soul-crushing job. The ketchup. I don't know if you... Yeah, it's like, good drip, bad drip, bad drip.

And then good drip. And then when he finally. It's like, best drip so far! It's like, exclamation point, exclamation point. That was the best.

He got so excited when something actually worked out. Was it all the same drip? It was all pretty much the same drip. But that scene where she brings the quiche over, it was so restrained. Like, that easily could have gone into Farrelly Brothers territory, and it could have dragged on and on and gotten more absurd.

And, like, they kind of did the appropriate amount of uncomfortably, awesomely funny, I don't understand what you're doing, and you don't understand what I'm doing. And then we walk away. And, like, it never went over the top. It was always sort of consistent. That acting was just so...

Yeah, it did, yeah. Fine-tuned and and jess you know i had met her already before i saw this movie and then i saw the movie and i'm like holy yeah uh because. The scene where she listens to his song. It's amazing you had mentioned that before and i mentioned it to her i was like that i had high. Expectations and even the second time still with high expectations and That's just such a great scene.

I've been there. It's really uncomfortable. Is it a soul crusher, would you say? I love the reveal later on when he says, I'm using it. And she goes, yeah, your music sucks.

It doesn't even fit into this conversation. She's amazing at the reaction shot generally because that seems so fantastic. And then the scene where he's caught in the lie and he's still going and she's giving him the Claire Huxtable look like, don't you dare. I know what you're doing right now. she doesn't even say anything. Yeah, yeah.

You can tell everything that she's thinking. Yes, but that scene, for me, like, I felt like the movie at that point, it had all been very naturalistic, and the acting was just very, like, this is real life, the scenes play out, felt like in just painful real time, and at that point, I was like, at this moment, where she asked for the bag of money, like, this could turn into, like, like, Danny DeVito, like, dark comedy, like, it could have been this, like, free fall of mischief, where they're on the run, like, with this money, and they're like, and she just immediately, like, She's not mad. She's like, I don't care as long as we have money. And I don't know. I just felt like.

I was like, can this movie go just batshit crazy for the last 30 minutes or so? But I like how it stayed... It kept that naturalistic tone. There is a mounting tension when something's working so well. The silence goes on for so long.

You think, how are they going to mess it up? You know it's like you were saying. How does a good movie ever get made? Because by that point. so many things could be so wrong. Yeah.

It's like now they have to keep walking across that tightrope to get to the end. That's right. And I love the moment when she kicks him out. And he goes outside and stands outside the door. Yeah.

For a while. There's nothing else to do. Yeah, what's he going to do? And then he goes back in. To me, that's utterly believable.

I've been fired from a job. and gone home, and had lunch, and went back. And it was never brought up again. Oh, wow. I've done that. That's crazy.

Yeah, I think the scene that made me the most uncomfortable in the whole movie, and I don't even know why, is the part where she's, like, crying, and she's telling him that he's a good dad. That part made me so uncomfortable. That was, like, that whole last part. I just wanted that scene to be over. No, that last, I mean, the part where she just looks at him is just... vicious but the part after that that's the thing where they just sit down and they have that like that's the part I'm most amazed with especially this time I'm just like that is the most realistic conversation like of anything that could happen in that scenario it would be really easy for it to go horribly like off the rails and stupid and yet they found a way to ground it and it really stays like a real conversation.

And I'm not I'm not putting this on you at all at all because I'm the asshole here but you've made choices that I don't understand and I feel like I'm stuck I'm stuck in some fucking college dream because I haven't had time to figure out what I, what I want or, or I just haven't, I haven't had time and I'm not, I'm not bitching. It's what a man should do. It's, it's what a man should be is be able to take care of his wife and his child. And that's, that's what I want to be able to do for you guys. I want to be able to do that so bad, but like, I don't know what I care about anymore.

What made that confrontation like so good was that like it represented how like in real life those moments where you're like getting really dramatic and like regular people aren't you know used to that kind of drama all the time in their lives like it's not the movies so like when that does happen when you do have like a like a life changing argument like that you're just like oh well I'm supposed to do like in the movies where I kick him out and I just stare at him in silence and then she's like wait no come back in we have to you know be adults and talk about this And that's just that self-consciousness. It's awkward, and it came through really well. What was so amazing was the way it didn't...

I mean, again, he makes a huge, stupid mistake. But right off the bat, it doesn't become all about her just yelling at him. There's this other underlying problem going on in their relationship. And as soon as he mentions her. You see this look, again, her ridiculously expressive face.

You see this look come over her face of suddenly she blames herself, not even for what he did, but just for all of it. Again, she's that kind of person, and you watch it in that reaction of all of a sudden, from that point on, it's not about you're stupid, you did this wrong thing. It's something's not right here, and it's a problem with our relationship, not this lie that you told. It becomes more about them as a couple than his stupid actions. I think she, you know, cause I, she makes that transition of, I'm not going back to this.

And I think, um, I was more aware of this time of by the time she's had her afternoon with tank, she's changed, you know, because she had the weekend where they went to the, um, where they went camping. And, you know, at first I thought, why was that even in the movie? Why, why, why would they, why does it show that? Yeah. It shows their closeness and everything.

And that he's carrying this lie. But you almost needed that. Because if they didn't have that... This is how perfect our life could be. And what we used to be.

She would have kicked him out. And it would have just been over. So this kind of gives you something to cling back to. And I think she had already made her decision about... I'm changing my life.

While she was with Tensh. That afternoon. She was like, I'm done. I've changed. And I.

I really liked when she comes in and it's right before the reveal. And you know it's coming. You know that because he's hiding the monies. You know this is the time in the movie where everything's going to be coming to an end. And he looks at her and he says, your face looks fantastic.

And it's a joke. It's a joke, but it's... But at the same time. Is, okay, that may be, yes, it's a joke and a Facebook thing, but at the same time, Maybe she's also carrying– maybe she's changed. Maybe she's not going to be the person she was before too.

And maybe that's reading way too much into that. But it seemed to be handled a lot better than, yuck, yuck, your face looks great. Because they didn't give you that second to laugh about it. I think they do that really well too. on two ends. It's like number one is I think even in the beginning.

I think early on you can see. And again, this is a credit to both of them acting wise. And I noticed even Josh more this time too. It's like you totally buy them as a couple. And not only as a couple that used to be in love and now it's falling apart. there's still love there.

And you, and for that to come through in this short amount of time, it's like, that's an amazing performance and amazing writing to just put in those key moments that are like, it definitely comes through that you see, they still really love each other. Things have gotten way out of what they wanted them to be, but that's still that core relationship still there. And then what you were saying with the camping, I also think we need not only the camping, but that moment with him and the baby on the floor and, And the moment of him and the baby in the park, we need those or we would hate him. Like, after what he says, you know, it's like, it's such a horrible thing. And it would be really easy, especially in a lesser movie, I think it would be really easy to just write him off from that point on.

And because you see, she's right, he's a good father. It's like, you know, it's like you see him not only being a good dad, but genuinely loving this baby. And he didn't say it. out of anything else other than it's just a stupid thought that came out of his head but you still see that it's not like it's something he was you know wishing for like this baby is what's making them you know have this horrible life it you know because you could almost construe that if that's what you wanted to you know take it in a different in a different script and i think they do a really good job of making it where you save you know this character so that he's not so dark that you just immediately hate him because you need to not be able to hate him later in the story.

I mean, in the instant where he, like, lies to his boss and tells him that the baby is dead, I know that is, that's definitely taboo to, like, use your child, like, the sickness or especially the death of your child as an excuse, but his boss was just such a dick. Like, what would you do? I mean, he was, like, yelling at him, you know, like, I don't know. I mean, if my boss was yelling at me like that, I don't know what I would say. It seems more like a reaction to shame his boss, too.

You're going to be this insensitive? Well, how about this? The kid's dead. Now what are you going to say? I think that's a lot of...

It was almost like a knee-jerk reaction. Like, oh yeah? Watch this. Which is why it makes it so stupid that he blurted it out. And then.

Like, the movie, to me, it just felt so short. Like, I don't know what was the runtime of it. I didn't bother to look, but it just felt so, like, it was over. It is 1.21. Yeah.

It's just above feature length, but in a way, I think that's to its credit. I think, again, watching it this time, I'm like, it makes it so tight, what it does. It's like nothing is wasted. And I realize that within, again, I've given it more credit as a director this time around because... The shot of, you know, the waitress, I think, isn't just there because it's funny.

It's also, we're watching her. He skipped out on his job. We're watching her at her job. She went there that day. This is her grind every day dealing with it.

And, yeah, it's like we're seeing the other side with her. And that's just a minute, but it plays into the grand picture. Same thing with that couple in the grocery. Yeah. They're not just there for no reason.

It's like he's watching that relationship with what they used to have. Everything that's in there is so perfectly planted. Every scene is so essential, and you almost don't even realize it until the end. Like the couple that they're friends with at first, that they're having dinner with, and it's just like, you know, you wouldn't really, I don't think you could really understand how that fits into the picture of things until the end. It's a movie form like an American short story. which I've been rooting for.

I think it ought to evolve for our limited attention spans that. They make these potent little short movies. And they used to do, I've seen some that were, there was a series, American Short Stories, and they would film them and make little movies. There was one called A Vintage Thunderbird that I've never been able to find again, but it was a great, tight little movie. And so I was already rooting for that and I kind of thought, you know, maybe I'm overrating the movie because I just like that approach so much and I'm, I'm wanting it to, to happen to offset what the other big form is, you know, is the Sopranos, the big panoramic.

Uh, HBO series or something like that. But, uh, I love short stories, but I don't really read them anymore. So I want movies to fill that void and to have that kind of quality. That's what movies are for, man. It was based on a T.C.

Boyle story. And the story itself is kind of remarkable because it's kind of like old 70s metafiction. It's like one of those stories that's about fiction. like, you know, but it's also got this, like, really positive spin, and it's also like the short stories that came sometime after that were, like, trying to get away from metafiction and experimental fiction and were more focused, you know, like Raymond Carver's stories that were more domestic drama and very immediate. And so it's kind of both. It's very immediate and And yet, it's kind of like, uh, why are we, what does fiction do for us in our lives?

And it sort of uproots them enough to, like, act and live more deliberately. Which is a really nice way to look at fiction. It's not the only thing. It can do. But, uh, it reminds me of the movie, um, The Return of Martin Aguirre.

A French movie, um, with Gerard Depardieu, because French movies have to have him. Yeah, it's in the French roles, I believe. It's a great movie, and it's like the Simpsons episode when they find out Principal Skinner isn't really. Who he says he is. Because, like, off in the war, he comes back and takes over the life of somebody else.

And that's what happens in The Return of Martin Guare. That's the Summers meme. Didn't they remake it? Yeah, they remade it as Summer's Bee and I never watched that. Because that was when they were making all my favorite foreign films into The Vanishing and.

You Probably Wouldn't Like Me. They still do that. But they asked the writers of The Simpsons if it was based on The Return of Martin Guerrero and they said no, it was based on a Borghese story. I don't know. But it's the same thing.

A guy goes off to war. He comes back to his wife and he's a different guy. Uh, but the cool thing is, uh, it, it said, I think it's like in the 1300s. And, uh, he teaches her to. Write because there's this whole thing about like, somebody says nothing but wickedness.

Ever comes from reading and writing. And, uh, And she signs her name with an X. But in the trial that comes up, she says, no, I can write my name. And she goes up. But they still hang him.

Spoiler alert. Spoiler alert. But when he's on trial, she says she can look at his face and see that he's saying, save yourself, her and the baby. And it's kind of like that. It's like a movie that's about, you know, why is fiction a good thing if we presume that it.

Is i think again you're you're looking for like those kind of stories and and you can get those occasionally in indie film i mean it's about the only way not not always again they're making so many indie films now that sometimes what used to be the only the good stuff got made but now they're making so many because it's so cheap now that there's a lot of stuff coming through that's not quite up to par but i think that's the only like way that you could do this and Again, I think that's what separates this, the way that they went about it. Because you guys have brought up two different versions of how they could have gone super mainstream with it. And I was trying to think of what something sort of similar has been.

And I was thinking like last year, that movie The Dilemma, when it was like they were caught in this situation where I saw my best friend's wife cheating with another guy. And then do I tell... But again, I haven't even watched that movie. All I saw was the trailer. And they fell down 14 times in the trailer.

It became a big, goofy, slapstick kind of thing. And this. I mean, if you just threw this script at somebody else, it could very easily fall into that of ridiculous scenarios of lies spinning out of control and ridiculous physical comedy coming into play. If you weren't... Let's call it Jim Carrey.

If you cast Kevin James in it. And it's like, you could really... And again, I think that's what I was so impressed with this time, is watching how much they pull that back and how realistic they keep it. I mean, you really don't feel like anything that goes on in this couldn't take place in somebody you know's life. It's all pretty real world.

I think for it to be like more Hollywood style it would have to have I mean the end of it was realistic and it was sweet and you could tell like everything's going to be fun and they're going to work out but there would be more like running towards each other with their arms open if it were like a Hollywood movie I would. Have to end in an airport on top of. The Empire State Building In a warehouse after they killed all the bad guys. It's a different genre, but all right. You know, there's a lot of restraint in it, and it feels real because of that.

I think because life. Is. Wow, that's important. Life and death. Yeah.

You know, everything is such a big deal, but really essentially nothing happens nobody is hurt by this other than the people that give him money but nothing nothing really happened other than attitude people reactions you know coming back and saying you know i screwed up you know but so much about their lives changed you know there's some films where 40 people die in the film and the main character is not changed at all. Yeah by the end it's just wrap it up there's no development at all whereas nothing happens in this basically and their lives are monumentously changed. I like that, that it does feel more real. Otherwise, you could have made this Hollywood and all kinds of things could have happened.

Well, I think that's what's so interesting about a movie, especially that it's entitled The Lie. It's not really about the lie. But what all goes on is not... Well, that's the thing. It's like it's not that... lie that he tells is not it's just the catalyst for everything else that takes place and and sort of it's really i mean the whole movie really is about growing up and like and having to deal with not only who you are but who you've become compared to who you thought you were going to be and that's a really big thing you know that that's a big thing and that's most of what this movie becomes by the end of it and it has nothing to do with the lie he told it's just what spirals things off into that and it's it's him sort of dealing with that and then you realize she's dealing with that too and they won't tell each other that they're going through this and that i guess is the secondary lie is is not being honest with your you know your husband or wife or whoever's in your life that you aren't happy with.

Um okay. I was like am i gonna do this am i not gonna do this Yes, no, yes, okay. One of my professors at school recommended me for a job. Are you serious? That's awesome.

My final writing requirement was chosen to be published in a kind of prestigious health law journal. It was legal issues relating to AIDS. And he gave it to the policy and government relations staff over at Masser. They know they have a strange public image, so they want to get more AIDS research dollars there. Masser Drug Company?

Yeah. But the thing is, is they. When were you going to tell me? I'm telling you now. Look, I wasn't sure when the right occasion was, and it happened very fast.

Wait, wait, wait, wait. Clover, you're going to work for Masser? No. Master has no interest in curing AIDS. They want to keep pushing their drugs on people.

This is blowing me the fuck away right now. This is really weird. No, it's not. Yeah, it's really. Strange for you to be telling us this, don't you think?

No, because I just went for my second interview where they talked to me about it and I was like. Oh, I'm going to talk to him. Didn't hear about that first interview. We're talking 401k. Life insurance the best medical benefits that money can buy.

Right yeah cool. Sell your soul for some money. Sounds like it could be. Great i i agree i think it's great right honey. Yeah i think it's really great yeah thank you this is so strange if you knew her.

If you knew her, you would understand how strange this is. Yeah, it's like the lie that both of their lives have become. And while you would think that sounds like just a depressing movie, if it were made by any other indie director, like, I don't know, Darren Aronofsky or someone, the viewpoint would have been just so dark and there would have been no signs of humor or hope, really, at all. But I like that it made it a point to, like, show you, you know, the humorous bits or the positive things. Like, the shots of the baby were really hopeful.

Like, it kind of, it was essential. Like, the scene where they're asleep and the baby's in between just kind of looking around. Like, it's just so innocent. The baby was great. The baby's pretty impressive.

And, like, the fact that the movie took so much time to, like, have those close-ups on the baby, like, it just gave this feeling of hope. I think that was just really crucial. It kind of. Made the movie stand out. Because just, like, indie movies.

Today are just so, just, like, dark and, like, I don't know, just depressing, and there's just no, it's just like, yeah, I guess, you know, real life is tough and everything, but you're just like, it's like made from the viewpoint of someone who's just like, dark thoughts, dark thoughts, like, hopelessness, it's just, and this was kind of like a nice, like, breath. Of fresh air. I feel like, almost like the, the whole, I'm miserable in my life, and I have no idea where I'm going, that, like, that's almost a genre in itself, like, that's such. A common theme, especially in indie movies, you. Know, like, Tiny furniture.

I don't know. Even, what's the Miranda July movie about the cat? What is that called? The Future. You know, movies where people are like, we're kind of unhappy.

I don't know what we're doing with our lives. It's a pretty common theme in indie movies. But this one was a little bit different just because it ended differently. It was more positive. I like them.

I did want to at least throw it out there because I know I took it from a very specific perspective and I think We all kind of have that level of like, what the hell's happened to me? I think we all do that. But it's a very specific thing that he's dealing with. And I know we have at least two people here who have kids, and if I'm not mistaken, have taken jobs that they don't like. And I think so much of this is not just the dealing with who you've become, but also that day-to-day grind of I hate what I have to do, but it's that putting, you know, prioritizing.

It's like, but I have to take care of my kids. I have to take care of my family. And that's what you do. You know, it's like, I got to be, I got to be a dad. I got to be a man and take care of my family kind of idea.

But it's, it gets to a point where it's really hard. So I don't know. What, what were your thoughts on that? Well, Greg even said, like, as she was taking our names and what we did for living in our religion group, what was it that you said? I don't really.

Yeah, I don't like to identify myself by what I do. How many hours a day? Way more than you should work in a week. Because none of that is who I feel like I am. I go in, I do the job.

I wouldn't do it if I weren't paid for it. That's for sure. Whereas there's a lot of other jobs that I've had, I would gladly still do them even not being paid for them. This feels more like just doing this is more what I went to school for, what I feel comfortable at, who I am. And so yeah, I'd hate to think for him, my music sucks, but if you need somebody to tell you that, you need somebody to tell you.

I don't know. I think a lot of people live their life like that. More than probably want to admit to themselves, and more than I think a lot of people realize how many people are kind of miserable in their day-to-day existence, and it really just kind of looks at that in this one little window. It doesn't dwell on it, but you just see him dealing with going to work, and the waitress dealing with being at work, and it's like just those little moments of how much that is kind of a heavy thing to deal with, and they touch on it. A little bit.

Yeah, and that's a pretty common thing, but I think His job didn't seem really terrible. He was doing video editing, and, you know, there are, like, little bitchy things that come up during the day that were kind. Of office space-like. Oh, we had to go back and fix that for you? Okay.

But I think the thing is, like, when she's contemplating taking this job with the evil Empire... It just feels like. It's going in the wrong direction. And that's when it really goes sour for him. I don't know.

Doesn't seem like a terrible gig. I think it's all perspective, though. I mean, usually when you're in that situation, you feel like it's the worst thing ever. And other people will look at your job and be like, well, so? You want to know what I do?

I mean, everybody has that thought about themselves. Yeah, but I mean, they had to edit that movie. And that had to be grueling. And, you know, it's like, well, how's editing this scene with the baby? Brutal.

Because it's his passion. You have to do the work. It's his passion. It depends on, what you're into. And the guy was in Blair Witch Project.

They shot 19 hours of film for that movie. Editing was just... Practically got frostbite. Yeah. Did she love that?

Yeah, and the other thing. That reminds me about Blair Witch, because he was the guy who wandered off and disappeared. Josh! Yeah, he was that guy. But I really liked that movie, and one of the things that struck me about it.

Was the actual horror. Like, I kept thinking, how are they going to mess this up? Because it's a horror movie. They're going to mess it up. How are they going to mess it up?

But I love the ending. The final image of horror was the map guy standing in the corner. Because that asks the question, what kind of supernatural force of authority can tell somebody to stand in the corner while somebody else is being killed? And that.... And it's like that absurd force that keeps people going to their futile jobs.

And I just thought it was so poetic. I thought it was a really smart movie. Maybe this is the Blair Witch made him a video editor. That's what happened to him. We never did see what happened to John.

He probably had to edit the video. Because, you know, at the end, it's all edited somehow. Did they just shoot it that way? No, Josh had to survive. Find it, edit it, and then leave it.

For the others. Go on to make this movie. The flaw of found footage. Josh. I think they.

Did a really good job of, you know, it's like, there were certain things about him that were so douchey. So douchey. But in the end, he wasn't really a douche. And I think that was amazing. That took a lot of work.

And that's weird because it's him on every angle. It's like he wrote the screenplay. He's directing it. And he's acting in it. So it's really like you'd think he'd make himself look great.

But he went out of his way to make himself almost unlikable at times. The part where I was just like, okay, maybe I do hate this guy. It's when they're in bed and they're like, after he'd made her dinner... And they show his back, and he has that tattoo that goes down his spine. I was just like, oh, God.

Were those, like, Mandarin characters in the form of a spine? I think it was letters. Letters? And then the part where he's in the place that sells medical marijuana, and he's like, and, you know, maybe you can, like, paint... And you can be inspired by the music that we're playing.

And I can be inspired by your paintings. I was just like, oh. No, again, that moment was so good. Because, again, it touches on all these different things. Because it captures that moment when he's in a relationship, but he's kind of having this connection with a girl.

And he's midway in, and he's just doing what he does naturally. And all of a sudden he goes, oh. I'm not supposed to be having this moment with a girl. I'm married and have a baby. I should mention that right now.

He just sort of blurts out. He just comes to that. You don't even see it coming. And then it just smacks him in the face. Oh, this would be going in a totally different direction if I weren't married.

But I'm married and have a baby. I'm going out of town. I really like that moment because you can see how much he's enjoying the fantasy of it. But then as soon as it becomes a potential reality, when she's like, okay, when are we doing this thing? He's like, eh, sometime.

How about this weekend? Absolutely not. I have a kid, by the way. Sorry. And you see why his musical career is the way it is.

It's like you see him and his brother haven't recorded in years, but he still identifies himself as, oh, I'm in a band. That's his career is music, not him editing all day long. His career, he still tells himself. It's music, but, I mean, they haven't recorded anything in years until that wonderful song we get. But, yeah, then you see with her, it's like she's immediate, and she actually does want to make plans and do something, and he doesn't know how to deal with that.

He's just like, I just, I'm all talk. I just, I don't actually do anything. You know, even from the scene, as a director, to put yourself in it, he's so awkward and unlikable in that first scene. The medical marijuana? Yeah, that he's...

He starts the movie out with a lie. All he does is tell her lies, just trying to get this prescription. And you're like, this guy tells horrible lies. He's uncomfortable. We know what he wants.

The doctor knows what he wants, and he won't just come out and say it. And, you know, that takes, I don't know, it takes a lot for a director. Everybody's got a certain amount of pride. to say, I'm just going, kind of like a Woody Allen kind of thing, I think, that I'm going to put myself out here, and I'm going to expose every bad part of myself, and it may not be him, but there's still some part of him that's in there, and he's willing to do that, put that out there, and be that jerk of a character in those moments, and has the guts to do it. That's true, but his hair always looks fantastic. And the whole movie has a kind of Instagram coloration.

I think it predates that actual phenomenon. But I like how they have the little clips of their. The little road trip things? Yeah, their life together. You get sort of family picture sense.

And they play out... Probably some of it was improvised because they just speak so naturally with each other. And I think that's also the way he works a lot of times. Or at least coming off Blair Witch. It has that same natural conversation kind of thing.

But in a way, his character in Blair Witch, he was a very mellow... I can't remember. I just remember him kind of yelling a lot. But before that, he was a real mellow. Kind of person.

But at the same time, he was really straightforward. Whenever they were arguing, he was like, Look, you're tired. I'm tired. This is stupid. And I'm just thinking, like, in this character, he's just such a sweet guy.

And he's so, like, caged. Like, he would never, you know, he'd be too embarrassed to, like, outwardly tell someone, like, what he thinks. You know, it was just, I thought just from watching Blair Witch, like, this guy, oh, yeah, the guy who was in that movie, he must be a jerk in real life. I'm like, no, he's just a really good actor. He is really good, I think.

He's really good. And there was, Jess is not the only Kentucky person in the movie. Thank you. Weirdest cameo ever. I was wondering about that.

As Allison. Yeah, what does she say? I don't remember. I think she's in the video clip. She's in it so briefly.

In the commercial, isn't she? Is that her? No, her character is the babysitter in East L.A. Oh, the one that he goes, yeah. And she answers the door and is like, here you go, Allison.

Thank you so much for whatever. And then kisses her and then is like, over. Yeah. And that's the point where you're watching the movie and you're guessing, what's the lot? He's having an affair?

No. Well, you know, there was the Governor Schwarzenegger thing. I don't know. Is this the Arnold Schwarzenegger story? Did he address that or explain what that cameo was about?

No. Well, and then there was also the guy from Trash was the waitress at the diner. Right. Holly Woodlawn. I think it's just calling in people he knows, I guess.

Holly Woodlawn was like one of the old Andy Warhol factory people and was in Trash and then like does sort of a drag show and was also the Holly mentioned in the Lou Reed song. Walk on the Wild Side. Sounds about right. That was The Waitress. But, I mean, there's all those little cameos.

I mean, Seven. Oh, yeah. She's great. That came out of nowhere right at the end. And I loved the line, I love Portland.

I met an owl there once. Oh, that was beautiful. And she said, you really put me on the right path or something like that. Because you met an owl? Well, you met me.

What's that got to do with. You know? You know, Go ahead. I love that line. It's a great scene all around.

I'm sorry. I feel like I bring up Bridesmaids every time Lucy's around, but it made me think of the scene of Bridesmaids where she's like, I met a dolphin down there. Yeah. Did you think of that? I don't know why.

I think those are the moments when it definitely full-on is a comedy, and maybe it's just because I'm laughing more at the weird hippie lifestyle. But I think there's some truth to it, and they show that with the brother... is really the wise character of the bunch. Like, he's the one that kind of sees where they're going wrong. He kind of, like, he's putting, definitely with his brother, he's trying to point him down the right path. He's just like, yeah, I'm like this, but you can't be like this anymore.

You know, you've made your choice. You have a child now. You have a family. You have to take care of it. But then they definitely want to poke fun at, you know, the biodegradable diapers and, you know, like, they have so many, like, Just sort of poking fun at all their weird, like, hippie lifestyle things that...

Can we. Oh, sorry. Go ahead. No, I was just going to say, can we address the Tank character? Because he has his own lie.

Yeah. Because I feel like I'm Tank. I'm the guy. Like, that's the path I've chosen. I live in the RV down by the ocean.

I'm not having kids, and that's what I do. That's my recording studio in your. Bathroom yeah i felt like i couldn't understand like the choice to lie about her presence was that just him not wanting to acknowledge that he was actually moving into an adult relationship that's. Yeah, I think he's heading towards where his brother is, and he doesn't want to admit it to himself more than anybody. Yeah, I love the scene where he's like, well, there is a woman's underwear on the floor.

I'm just, I don't know. I don't know how it got there. No, my favorite with him is, you guys never call before you come over. Yeah. And they do that shot of the RV, and.

He's like, you don't have a phone. I'll call you. I'll call you. Yeah. That's the best moment.

And he tells her, you know, you really need to stop stopping by with that unnoticed. And she goes, I've not been here forever. And you're like, well, for the future. You know, like, future reference. Yeah, he's a good character.

He's a lot of fun. Yeah, he's kind of like a Kramer-esque sort of foil because he has this great idea, too. But it turns out. It's actually good. Yeah, that's what's so funny is that, you know, the comment is like, your face looks nice.

It's like, hey, there might be something to this. And then the line with Seven, I really like that she, he hands her the bag of money. I don't know if she realizes that it's a bag of money or not, but then she goes, yeah, I bought him some avocados. And he goes, oh, that's nice. You know, like, you know, it's just so, you know, She's such a pure character, I think, in that one little snippet that you see of her.

And that she is interested in the wife and the kid and that she takes time to stop and notice and say hi to them. I don't know. It was a fun character to just throw in there at the end. And it's very promising for the brother, too. Well, I liked how Tank won't feed his brother.

Right. But she comes over and he's like, Hey, you want to try this? Yeah. The brother is like, yeah, can I taste it? What is it?

No, I need this. I need all that. I need all that. Yeah. I like how at first, you know, with the Volkswagen bus that was parked next to it, he kind of, he didn't want to admit there was anyone there at all.

And then you don't really realize until the end that it's more of like a serious thing. It's not just like there's just some random girl coming over. But it's just interesting because it's just like you have no idea how long that relationship's been going on. I mean, yeah. No one just accidentally leaves underwear at someone's house if it's a one-night stand.

If you have a girlfriend, she might leave things, but you know. That's what I think is funny watching him, because yeah, it's all in his mind. It's like he really is in that situation already, and he just won't admit it. It's like admitting it to his brother or his family is making it real. So he's still sort of pushing it off.

If nobody else knows, then it never really happens. Yeah, and those kinds of things, just the fact that he has his. Own life going on, is what distinguishes him from that character in a lesser movie or a lesser story, where they're just basically standing on the sidelines of the main characters. And I think one of the worst examples is Moulin Rouge, where nobody gives a damn about their own lives, they're just revolving around the central character's It's so stagey. It's a pretty stagey movie.

It's meant to be stagey. But still, I don't think they had Saturday Night Specials at that time for 1952 Smith Corollas. I don't know. You and your thinking. But they did have Elton John.

I looked that one up. Elton John was around. He's eternal. He's that old. It's pretty amazing.

But no, the opening dinner scene I thought did a really good job because it established that going back to the lie and the two main characters like their lie, already they're in conflict when they argue in front of their friends and that makes it even more awkward. then when you know he asked for you know the ten thousand dollars or whatever like you know the couple they can handle that like no no it's fine we get all the time it's no big deal you know and they could have brushed off that off and it's it's not as awkward as you know you think it is and because he's at peace so it's it's not as bad for him i guess like his like you said his lie comes later when he kind of gets into a real relationship and like they're already in.

Their I guess they've already settled and they're in their own lie already, if that makes sense. I don't know. I had a point there, but something about lies and the opening scene establishing the theme of the movie, but I don't know. Yeah, lies and transitions. Something along those lines.

Do they know what to make of that mirror scene? With the baby? Yeah. What is that? Is that like a thing where if a baby sees its reflection, it'll go to sleep or something?

I didn't know what that was. I mean the mirror on the wall during the big lie reveal scene that seems to have the saw teeth along the edges. I didn't know. When we're watching her face and she's like, you know, what did you do? And he keeps, well, I'm explaining to you, see what happened was.

And then you're looking at her face, and on the wall there's this bizarre mirror. I thought it was like a horse harness. Is it like a yoke kind of deal that has been turned into a mirror? That's what it looked like to me. Oh, yeah.

Usually that's what you end up doing is looking at the room and picking out your favorite furniture item. They had a nice place. They did. Which, again, is so weird. It's like they came off as these hippie kids.

And it is like it's something weird that sort of happened in society. It's like you had this whole hippie culture in the 70s. And by the 90s, all those same ideals became yuppies. And they were just paying a lot more for everything. But it's like they carried over this weird breed of like that same type of character, only...

They wore business suits, and they went to work in an office, but they still had these same ideals and bought the biodegradable diapers. It just became a lot more pricey to do it. I liked when he asked the baby, do you want some mango chutney? As if he'd be like, yes, please. Well, who doesn't?

I loved also his first instinct when he gets the bag of money. is to take it to the backyard and bury it. Like it's a body. Like, okay, I've created something so brave that it's like the death, you know, you're talking about death, you're dealing with death, and I've got to actually bury this lie in order to get past it. But I like that he immediately changes it. Because, once again, showing his character, like, he constantly makes a rash decision and realizes, well, that's stupid.

It's like every step he makes, he does that. He goes from hiding it to evaluating it by counting it out. You know, that's just, I mean, you know... But I just love that. I'm going to hide the problem.

I'm just going to get rid of it like it's a dead body. Yeah. And it'll all be okay. We're at that blood simple moment. We're just like, okay, I'm in too deep.

Yeah. Well, is there anything else overall we want to hit on this one? Great movie. It is. That was a really good movie.

What about our friend Jess? Jess. Jess? I mean, we have adopted her as a member of the show now. Whether she likes it or not, I don't know.

But again, just you... How can you watch this and not kind of fall in love with her a little bit? She's amazing. Like, just the character that she is. Again, not even having met her, watching it that first time, and you get sucked into the way that she reacts to everything.

I mean, she's just amazingly expressive as an actress. And her name is Clover in the movie. Clover, yeah. Again, hippie kids. Well, you know, I mean...

You could almost gauge a backstory from everybody in the movie, just because, you know, even, like, the girl who brings the quiche over, just by the way she dresses, she's, like, almost memorable in a way. At least to me, because I like her outfits. But, like. I don't remember the outfit. I remember.

It was kind of prim, wasn't it? Yeah. She had, like, a little neck bow. But, you know, you can almost, like, gauge a backstory from people. And I thought it was interesting that even though they seem kind of like these hippie people, she made this choice to go through law school.

Yeah. Which is interesting. It's very weird. Well, people do that. Yeah.

Yeah. Like martial arts. I was going to say that. And probably went into it with that intent of like, oh, I'm going to fight for the right side and I'm going to make a difference. And then instead gets lured over to the wrong side in her mind.

I like how she sleeps in her crass t-shirt but then wears her pantsuits to work. Yeah. Yeah. And I just realized pretty much every single character in this movie is redeemed. Like, even the annoying co-workers here are like, oh, those are terrible people.

I would hate them too. They all get their chance to be nice. You get to see that deep down. They're all good people. The boss comes off so great after.

He's the nicest man in the world all of a sudden. This is so awkward. He does that nice gesture, he's walking out the door, and he's just like, oh. He touches his face after he hugs him, like he all of a sudden is the sweetest man ever, but yeah, he's such a jerk. The entire first half.

Of the movie. Everyone is telling a lie. Every single, even the waitress is not who she is, you know. Literally. Yeah, literally.

And so, yeah, every, and when it's revealed, you know, when you tear away the lie, the real person is much better than what they were projecting. You're talking about the waitress still? No, I'm talking about everyone else. Or maybe she was who she is. I don't know.

I loved the waitress before I had any idea who the actor was. That was such a great scene. Because I felt the same thing you did, because she's hearing him tell this story about going into work, and I'm at home, and I have to deal with stuff. And she knows he's sitting there at a diner, but she's like. She's like, eh, it's another day at work for me.

Well, I think, again, watching it this time, I think I noticed more of just as... movie overall and again looking at more what what josh does and he he's a lot more of a solid director like again i don't i really kind of looked at it from that angle and it's like he doesn't do anything showy ever it's a very straightforward delivery but it's solid it's like you get some good shots along the way that shot of him walking down the hallway in the beginning when he's going to work is kind of an interest it's just well lit and put together and those shots of the The Winnebago out on the beach. It's like he takes his time on those because it's a good shot. That was good. Yeah. That kind of wide shot of the Winnebago because most of the shots in the movie are kind of like close-ups.

You know, you don't really get a sense of where they are, but it's focusing on the emotions of the characters. But, you know, when we get to the RV, it's like, you know, it's suddenly, oh, landscapes. You know, he's free. Like, you know, this guy is... He's fine with his life.

He's free with himself. He's not boxed in. And it shows them what a different movie it is when they go camping, when they're not in their house, but when they're probably the way they were when they first met. You see that in the relationship. They become a lot more comfortable around each other and a lot more relaxed because it's kind of reminding them the way they used to be.

And I think he shows that. in that surroundings, and again, just in the way that it's written. So, again, I have a lot more respect for him going into it this time, and I want to see what else he ends up doing. Because I know he still does acting on the side for, you know, whatever, but I'm way more interested in seeing what he does as far as writing and directing from this point. I just, you know, like, I think most people do this, especially when they're young, and I think it's probably dependent on how you're raised. But you grow up thinking that your success and happiness in life is dependent on what you do and what you have.

And it's kind of interesting for these people to come to the realization at the end of the movie that they were happier with less. They were happier when they didn't have the 401k and the health insurance. Things that everyone pretty much works for. That's probably one of my favorite lines in the movie is that right in the middle of that the most intense scene in the movie when by the end, he says, we're allowed to change things, right? And it's just that realization of, you know, you're not locked into it.

You can make changes. Granted, when you get into that situation, it's damn near impossible to change everything, but it's still something you can do. Again, especially if you're honest with the other person and you're not, like, lying to yourself and to the rest of your family. So, I mean, again, it is that realization of the character of, like, we can do whatever we want to do. We've just been lying to ourselves that we're trapped in this situation.

You're not ever really trapped. You can go off and do, you just have to put up with the consequences if you go off and do whatever. But yeah. And that's something that like I can relate to knowing that like, if you think that you're just trapped by your daily routine and there's no getting out of it and you finally, you know, you find like maybe like say a camping trip where, you know, a change of scenery or like being somewhere else, just you can, you find like, Oh, I'm. I'm myself again.

And like, I can relax and, you know, it's, I'm not, I'm making this worse than, you know, than it really is. And it's just, it's all about, you know, realizing, oh, you know, I, I can change my situation. I mean, you can't necessarily make everything perfect, but you're not as trapped. As you think. You have to realize what is more important to you.

Like, like with them, it's like, do we want to have this security or do we want to, you know, you want to be impressed with what we have or what we're doing with ourselves. And I think that's what both of them were like, I hate what I'm doing because I would be happier if I didn't have money, but I could just do something that I actually cared about. And that's something a lot of people probably need to come to terms with. I feel the last few scenes towards the end were almost like a commentary on modern parenting. You know, it's just like the scene where he's like, do we want to be happy?

He's like, is it healthy. To raise her in an environment where we're unhappy? You know, because it's like. You could be blissfully happy and live in a tent and be wonderful parents and everyone's going to judge you because you don't have, you're not stable, you don't have health insurance. I mean, health is insurance.

It would be nice, but. But, you know, it's just like, what's worse? Yeah, again, that kid could turn out great living in a tent versus growing up tormented in this house where you're living with two miserable people your entire life. It's... Yeah, I mean, there's something to be said for both sides.

And it kind of makes that presentation really well. And he took his deer ant with him. Of course. All the things in that house to take. I thought it was interesting the few possessions that they picked.

A chair. A rocking chair and a deer head. That's how ready they were to just get out and. Be done with it. That's how you know they were very natural.

It's a fake deer antler. I was thinking about what I would save if my house was on fire, and I was looking around, and I was like, I'd have to save those deer antlers. I literally thought that. I was like, my son's last collection, I'd probably throw it out the door. I need that.

After my dog. So does that round out this movie? It does. It's impressive. Looking at it, I was trying to think of what else you could do with it, and I think for what it is and for what it's trying to do, I really couldn't come up with anything else you could do.

I mean, you could expand upon it, but expanding anything could throw off the focus and the timing. And I think for what it's trying to do, it's pretty damn impressive. The baby's terrific. That final shot is genius. No, I've never seen a bad performance by a baby in a movie.

That has yet to happen. That's a lot of editing. That baby was terrible. Some idiot sitting in a room editing is what that is. I'm interested to see what else that baby.

Is going to do. You know who's the best baby. Actor I've ever seen? She had a quality kind of like Betty White. What?

Yeah. She had that strange birthmark. I'm wondering if that's going to affect her career later. I don't know. They.

I don't know. He's got that tattoo on his spine in Mandarin. I wonder if that was real. It says, please don't tell this guy what we wrote on his spine. I thought it said, like, live free or die or something.

Yeah, I thought that's what it said. It's pretty cute. You start having headlines like, babies to watch, you know. Like in Hollywood. So-and-so baby's making the rounds.

Sexist baby alive. That's what it's called. The baby indie queen of this year. Seriously, the baby in Raising Hope. That baby can face act like no baby I've ever seen.

That's what I'm saying. I was watching an episode earlier. It was called Killer Hope. And they're worried that she's going to be a serial killer because her mom's a serial killer. And every time they look at her, she's like.

And she's a toddler. There's no way you could tell a toddler to make that face. That's what I'm saying. That final shot in this one is amazing. Because it gives it that.

These are my parents it's the best. I can do he's got that what the hell look I think I have seen that look on your kids face it's kind of like that though it's just like look this is what I got I'm dealing with the best I can look at my parents so it's pretty impressive. Kids being smarter my son six is usually the genius of the family because he comes up with the right perspective but a friend of mine was telling about His dog passed away, and he's alone now and living alone. And, you know, the dog was with him for 12 years. And he said he sometimes still hears the collar or he'll hear the dog's feet go across the kitchen or something like that, you know, when he's lying in bed.

And my son just, you know, in this tender, quiet moment that, you know, a person that normally doesn't reveal themselves revealed himself. My son goes, maybe it's just your head. You know, like, we didn't even think he was... paying attention and then he says this and like no thanks thanks for putting me in my place maybe you're just crazy weirdo why not call my friend crazy last night that was a wonderful moment yeah the kids they do they look at you like yeah I don't know what to do with them they're just my. Parents what else can you do yeah alright that rounds out do you have anything else for us Probably. Later, but.

I've very much enjoyed watching you guys and. Listening to all this. Thank you. We're sorry. We've got one listener.

Does it count if you're live, though? Is this our first, like, live audience? Oh, we'll work on that. Does it count if you're locked in? Well, I think that is about it, so...

Thanks again to Nancy's for letting us loiter around in here, and... drink coffee all night otherwise that about does it we will return next week same geek time same geek feed thanks for listening. Be sure it's true when you say I love you it's a sin to tell. A lie Millions of hearts have been. Broken Just because these words were. Spoken I love you, yes I do, I love you If you break my heart, I'll die So be sure it's true When you say I love you It's a sin to tell a lie.

Be sure it's true when you say, I love you, honey. Because you got sense enough to know it's a sin to tell a lie. Whole lot of folks' hearts has done been broken just over a whole lot of foolish words that's spoken. I love you. Yes, I do.

I love you. If you break my heart, I'll die. So be sure it's true when you say I love you. It's a sin. To tell a lie.

I save them sometimes because I know I'll have a stretch of time. And it's like, oh, then I can really. Do you go back and listen to these? Yes, I do listen to these. Yeah, because I'm not at every one.

I even listen to the ones I'm at. Because, you know, I always, after I say anything, like right now, as soon as I finish the sentence, I'm going to think, I probably just said something really stupid. You know, and I listen to them again, and I think, oh, that didn't sound so terrible. That's okay. That's a good reaction.

You know what the other one would be like, oh, my gosh, I can't believe I said that. So that's a good reaction to have. It is. So every now and then I have it. Sometimes I actually do say stupid things.

I make notes of those times. Minute 47, Fred said something stupid. This episode is a production of Movie Meltdown, produced and edited by The Oddity Studios, with opening music performed by The Empires. For more on how to sponsor or support the show, email producer at moviemeltdown.com. Talk hard!

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